1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a computerized Alzheimer's patient tracking system and the method used to track and locate a missing patient. The system employs the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Internet, a unique software interface, a unique application software and unique tracking device firmware.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of prior art systems have been proposed for the tracking of patients or other objects. Examples of some of such devices and systems are described below.
Hawkins et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,751 sets off an alarm when the signal strength of a transmitted signal falls below a predetermined level. Narcisse, U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,273 provides a similar out of range alarm system. These patients deal with a simple strap on transmitter. In that regard, these devices are more akin to the traditional house arrest system that transmits periodically to a fixed receiver. In this case, instead of an autodialer, it sounds and audible alarm. The present invention, by contrast, incorporates both a receiver and transmitter that can communicate with multiple base stations. This allows the unit itself to communicate in both directions, and in conjunction with other Zibee devices, can be used to track the unit without used of the GPS or transmitter.
Ross et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,275 discloses a movement monitoring system having a wrist band 22 including a receiver 30, a battery and switch 32 and a transmitter 34. The receiver is continuously activated and the transmitter is normally deactivated unless activated by the receiver in response to a signal from a detector. This patent specifically identifies the problems of bulky batteries and of the need to recharge such a device if it is left in transmit mode all of time.
Beetz et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,544,171 discloses a system for patient monitoring which includes a body sensor for measuring a physiological parameter. This devise utilizes a cellular mobile radiotelephone system for tracking purposes. The unit in this patient uses a dedicated sensor. Our unit uses a Bluetooth transceiver to communicate with multiple remote devices. These devices can measure many metrics and can communicate with other common Bluetooth devices.
Baker, U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,397 discloses a self contained tracking unit and GPS tracking system. This device utilizes solar power to address power consumption issues.
Werb et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,700,533 discloses an asset and personnel tagging system utilizing GPS. Werb et al. primarily use a local area LAN, like WiFi, or RFID, to relay GPS data to a server. The present invention, by contrast, uses RFID to keep the unit off until needed, and do not use it to transmit GPS data. When in a building, in proximity to RFID, the present invention will use the ID of the unit to track the patient, and not the GPS, which is less effective indoors, and would draw power uselessly. Further, to use the Werb device, a mobile unit needs to be deployed in the area the tag is to be used and illustrates a truck being used on a construction yard, and RFID relaying GPS data to it.
Schwartz et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,138,916 (which was co-invented by one of the co-inventors of the present application), discloses a computerized system which provides a method to inventory articles, to locate lost or stolen articles and to recover a lost or stolen article. The system applies an electronic tag to each article of a multiplicity of articles or only to a valuable article and employs a computer to maintain an inventory of all articles. Use is made of a global positioning system to locate a lost or stolen article as well as to track movements of the article. A history of the movement of the article may also be plotted on a map. An electronic geographic boundary area may also be placed around an article that can be used to emit a signal indicative of the article leaving the area. This patent is used for asset tracking and its programming was unique, setting it apart from other devices of this type. The present invention will be based on this core programming, but will evolve it so that the device can re-program itself depending on traffic from the Bluetooth or Zigbee. The specification of Schwartz et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,138,916 is hereby incorporated herein by reference thereto.
The problems associated with the increasing number of people afflicted with Alzheimer's syndrome and other related diseases can not be overstated. With the increasing percentage of the population now over 55 years of age, there is a proportional incidence of people suffering from Alzheimer's and other illnesses that weaken and eventually destroy their cognitive ability.
In the past, there have been many attempts to monitor the location of individuals. Children and the elderly are in the most obvious need for such tracking, but other individuals, such as people under house arrest have also received tracking tags of various types.
There are obvious disadvantages and drawbacks to wearable tracking devices to date. The two types of locator tags currently available are: A simple transmitting tag. This type of device has been used by law enforcement for many years. A simple transmitting tag is placed on the wrist or the ankle of the individual being monitored, and a receiver is placed in their home or residence. The receiver is powered from a wall outlet (usually with a battery backup) and is connected to the home phone, or in more recent versions of these tags, to a cell phone network.
The principal of operation is quite simple. When the wearable tag moved out of range of the receiver, a microprocessor in the receiver will automatically dial a pre-programmed phone number. A central receiving station receives the call, and notes the time of the alert.
There are advantages of this system. The power requirement for the wearable tag is small. These are typically small transmitters with a limited range, powered on for a fraction of a second every minute or two. This limits the power consumption of the tag, allowing it run on a small battery for a prolonged period of time. The receiver is powered by wall power or the phone circuit, and has no power consumption issues. In addition, the system is relatively inexpensive, requiring a simpler autodial circuit that contacts a central service. The only cost associated on a recurring basis is that of a call center. But there are disadvantages. The information delivered to the call center is limited to the time the individual left a known location. Though this information is useful, it must be acted upon immediately in order to find the individual before they move too far away from the receiving unit.
The second type of tag is the GPS based radio tag. This is a wearable tag consisting of a GPS receiver, a radio that operates on a public communications network, and a microprocessor to control the radio and extract data from the GPS. These systems usually strap to a persons wrist or ankle, and is designed to deliver the individual's location in real time to a central server.
The advantages of this system are obvious, but there are daunting problems. Existing tags tend to be large, and the primary reason for this is due to the power requirements of the radio, GPS and support circuitry.
To work properly and deliver location data in as close to real time as possible, the tag radio and GPS must be fully active. As with any radio transmitter, anytime the unit transmits it draws considerable power from its battery. This will limit the useful period of time the tag can be used before battery replacement or recharging from 3 hours to 24 hours, depending on the frequency of transmission.
Most tag systems are rechargeable, and so require the unit to be removed and recharged, usually once a day. This is a huge problem in most human or animal tracking applications, but is nearly impossible to implement with Alzheimer's patients.
Unless a caregiver is available to maintain the device on a daily basis, its battery will run down and become useless when needed to locate the patient. Some tags use a “panic button”, which keeps the unit off until it is manually activated by the wearer. This resolves the battery problem, but requires the wearer to activate the tag while under duress. Once again, in the case of Alzheimer's patients (and children), this is not a viable solution.